


Cabin Fever

by imawarlock



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blow Jobs, Frottage, M/M, hypothermia (almost), neetwin cameo, trapped in a cabin with no electricity or toilets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 12:52:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3897046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imawarlock/pseuds/imawarlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiking in the mountains, Levi is caught up in a sudden snowstorm with nowhere to go for the night but a broken down cabin. Unfortunately, he ends up having to share it, with a handsome, blonde-haired and blue-eyed stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cabin Fever

Levi should have noticed something was wrong when the temperature started dropping.

Granted, he was hiking miles up into the mountains, so he expected it to get a little cooler the farther up he went. But he’d checked the weather that morning, and a fifteen degree difference from what it was supposed to be at this level of the trail should have set alarm bells off in his head. Still, it wasn’t like he had a thermometer, so he didn’t really notice he might be in danger until the wind picked up and dark clouds started rolling in.

“The fuck?” He muttered to himself, squinting up at the sky through the bare, dead-for-the-winter-trees when he heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance.

It wasn’t supposed to snow. The weather had said it was going to be mostly clear all day, with only a minor chance of light precipitation. As Levi looked up at the threatening clouds, foreboding in their size and their inky black color, a single, white snowflake fell from the sky, and he knew that what was about to happen would be anything but light.

It was going to storm, something that was confirmed when shortly after, it started snowing in earnest, huge chunks of it bigger than his nose coming down, falling faster and faster by the minute.

It was a freak blizzard - something rare, but not unheard of in this area - and once it started Levi knew he needed to get back down the mountain. He wasn’t equipped for something like this, not at all, carrying only enough supplies for a day’s hike. He wasn’t dressed for snow either, and as he walked, it wasn’t long before the icy wetness from the melting slush that hit him began to seep through his clothing.  

The temperature was still dropping too and the storm was getting worse, and he didn’t make it very far before his visibility began to decrease.

The snow was coming down so hard by then that he could only see a few feet in front of him, and he still had miles to go before he reached the lodge at the base of the trail. Drifts were building up too, covering the pathway he’d been following up the mountain. In these conditions he was in danger of getting lost, he realized, and even if he didn’t, he was moving so slow that at this rate there was no way he’d reach safety before dark.

“Shit…” He muttered to himself, his eyes going wide as just like that, the amount of danger he was in fully hit him.

If the temperature was already this low, it would only get colder once the sun went down. Either way, the wind was making it that much worse, and he was sure he’d be completely soaked to the bone long before then. He was already shivering and beginning to lose feeling in his toes and fingertips due to his shitty boots and gloves, and if he stayed out here with no shelter and nothing to keep him warm, he would surely succumb to hypothermia and freeze to death.

For a moment it felt surreal, like he was living one of those survival stories they played on TV, until the wind suddenly howled and bit into his skin painfully and he realized how very, very real this actually was.  

A flash of fear shot through him, and now on the verge of panic, he stopped walking and paused near a tree. He leaned against it and tried to get himself under control, because losing it in this situation would do him no good, not out here in these conditions. If he was going to get through this he had to think, and he forced himself not to contemplate the worst and to go through the contents of his pack. Perhaps there would be something in there that would help him.

Before he even started looking, though, he knew there wouldn’t be. He’d only been planning to spend the day out here, and had just brought a large canteen of water, a few snacks, his cell phone, a knife, and a map. The only thing he had in his backpack in case of emergency was a flashlight.

None of this would do him any good in his present situation, and he cursed himself for being so thoughtless. He had his phone, yes, but he couldn’t call for help because he had no service this high in the mountains, and even if he could he doubted anyone would be able to reach him during the storm. Food and water were good, but they weren’t going to keep him from freezing to death, and neither would a flashlight.

What he needed was some kind of blanket or something that he could use to make a shelter, he thought idly, gritting his teeth in frustration and anxiety. He was doing it to keep the chill back too, clenching his jaw in an effort to control the shaking that was made worse by his near panic, but it wasn’t working. By now he was shivering almost violently, and his extremities were getting more numb by the minute.

Could he make a shelter out of snow? He wondered, looking around at how it was piling up. He swore he’d seen that on television before, but quite frankly, he didn’t think it would work. He was, at best, an amateur hiker, not a fucking survivalist, and with that thought, he had to ball his hands into fists to fight down another wave of panic.

What would be good was a cave, or something natural like that where he could seek solace and at least try to keep dry. There might be a bear in it, of course, but at this point, he was willing to risk it. What the fuck other option did he have?

Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about any potential bears, because when he pulled out his map and started looking to see if there was one around, he saw not a cave, but a sketch of a shack. It was a small cabin, the map told him, a place used by hunters during the spring and summer, and if he was right about his own location, it was only another mile and a half northeast.

That was basically the opposite direction of where he really wanted to be headed - down to the lodge - but a cabin was infinitely better than a cave. Not to mention that, right now, it looked like the only chance he had of not freezing to death.

Using the compass on his phone while he tried not to get it wet, he hoisted his bag over his shoulders again and set off in that direction. He was still worried about getting lost in the storm, especially as time passed the snow grew heavier and his visibility began to worsen even more. It was also still getting colder, and he could no longer feel his fingers, toes, or face. Still, he trudged along, a nervous foreboding building in his belly the longer it took, until finally, he spotted something through the thinning trees and brush.

It was the cabin, thankfully, and although it was even tinier and more broken down than he’d ever imagined, he’d never been happier to see something so shitty. It had taken him almost two hours to hike one and a half miles because of his pace, slowing down even worse the closer he got because he’d started to get tired.

By then he was shivering uncontrollably, his teeth chattering loudly and his hands and feet completely numb. There was ice all over his clothing and in his hair too, and what portions of his face he could still feel were burning painfully with cold from the wind. He had no doubt that if he’d had to go on like this for another hour, he wouldn’t have made it much further. He’d never been this cold in his entire life, and he barely had the energy left to stumble up the cabin’s steps so he could pry the door open.

He had to drag it through about half a foot of snow that had blown up onto the porch, but once he was inside, he nearly collapsed with relief. He locked the door behind him and slumped against it, sliding to the floor in an almost-frozen heap and looking around.

The first thing he saw was a metal daybed, half broken down with a grimy looking blanket on top of a musty mattress. It looked filthy, and in normal circumstances he would have never even touched it, but after hours out in the storm, he was too cold and wet to care. Shedding his backpack, he forced himself to stand up again, knowing that even though he was inside now, if he didn’t get warmed up and dry soon it wouldn’t matter.

The first thing he did was strip all of his clothing off down to his underwear - noticing that luckily, his hands and feet seemed to be free of frostbite - and then wrap himself tightly in the blanket on top of the bed. He may not have been a survivalist, but he knew that if he didn’t get out of his cold, wet clothes, the blanket by itself wouldn’t do much. It was thin, but even that amount of dry material over his bare skin felt nice, and he sighed, settling on top of the bed while still shivering and shaking and trying to breathe some life into his numb fingers and nose.

While he fought to warm up, he looked around again and tried to get a better look at the cabin. It was rather dark inside because of the storm, but from what he could see, there wasn’t much inside - expected because of the shack’s small size and sporadic use. What there was though, Levi suddenly saw in the corner behind a broken chair, was a fireplace.

It was tiny and full of ash, rusted like it hadn’t been used in years, but it was there.  

He couldn’t believe his luck given that this place was probably rarely used in the winter, but as far as he could tell, it looked to be in working condition. Sliding off the bed and crawling over to it, he didn’t see any wood, but the chair in front of it would certainly suffice for that. The only problem was how to get it started.

There was no way he had the skills to start a fire without matches, but it would be a cruel fucking joke if he had the means for one but no way to get it going. Turning as quick as he could, he spotted a locker on the other side of the room and shuffled over, still keeping the blanket wrapped tightly around him while he began to root around inside it.

Levi found all kinds of shit that must have been left here by previous inhabitants: paper plates, a can of beans, broken candles, toilet paper, moldy books, spoons, a toothbrush that looked used - disgusting - and, stuffed in the very back corner of the locker behind a bunch of other garbage, a book of matches. He only hoped that they wouldn’t be too old.

First thing was first, though, he had to get some wood into the fireplace. Luckily, the chair in front of it was so broken that it didn’t take much for him to bust it apart, putting his boots back on to stomp on the legs before pulling the cloth and stuffing apart for more kindle. It wouldn’t last him the whole night, but it would be enough to get him safely warm so he could at least probably make it through.

Already, he felt a little less cold from all the movement and work, no longer shivering so violently that he was afraid he was going to accidentally bite his tongue off. He was still shaking a little though, and the air in the cabin was cold enough for him to see his breath. A fire would certainly take care of that, so grabbing the matches, he crouched down in front of the fireplace and opened the book.

There were only 8 inside of it, and of course, the first one broke when he struck it. The second one caught though, and Levi forced himself to move slowly despite his relieved elation, bringing it to the stuffing from the chair he’d placed underneath some broken wood. He held the match there, blowing gently until it began to catch fire. As soon as he saw the tiny flames he almost collapsed backwards, feeling more sure that he was going to live through this than he had been in hours.

While it was spreading he began to relax, feeling warmer already even from the small amount of heat it had begun to put off. He drank some water from his canteen and laid his clothes out nearby so they could dry, and then nestled down in the blanket as close to the fireplace as he could get.

Eventually, once the flames grew bigger and hotter, he stopped shivering, and the feeling in his extremities began to return. He was almost toasty, in fact, but he was still exhausted, and he must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing he knew he was being woken up by a loud knock at the door.

He awakened with a start and sat up, noting deliriously that the fire was still going strong so he couldn’t have been out for more than a few minutes. However, he wasn’t sure if the knock he’d heard had been a dream or not. Looking to the door, he wondered if he’d imagined it, flinching with surprise when he heard it again - this time louder and accompanied by a jiggle of the door handle.

It confirmed Levi had not been dreaming, but his first instinct was suspicion. Who the fuck would be all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, knocking on the door of this shack during a dangerous blizzard? The storm was definitely still raging, he knew, because he could hear the wind howling and see the snow blowing past the building’s single window, illuminated only because of the fire and what limited daylight remained.

He knew that this area attracted lots of hikers and campers, but usually only during the summer. What were the odds that there was someone else in his vicinity, close enough to this shack to seek it for shelter like he had done?

Regardless, he wasn’t going to be too careful. Standing up, he kept the blanket around himself and grabbed the knife from his pack, hiding it underneath the fabric as he approached the door.

“Hello?” A voice said suddenly, ringing out deeply from the other side as whoever it was knocked again. “Is someone in there?”

Levi raised an eyebrow, staring and trying to decide whether he wanted to open the door or not. Whoever it was certainly didn’t _sound_ threatening, and although they probably were just another hiker or something caught up in the storm, he didn’t really want to share this shack with a stranger. Still, leaving them out there meant hypothermia, and he couldn’t let someone freeze to death in good conscience just because he’d rather be alone. He wasn’t _that_ much of an asshole.

“Hello? Please?” The voice said again, rattling the locked door handle once more.

With a sigh, Levi tightened his grip on the knife he held, stepping forward to unlock the door. He cracked it open, immediately sticking his head through to glance out. Then he looked up, because the man on the other side standing on the porch was very tall.

“Hello.” He repeated for the third time, his blue eyes latching onto Levi.

They were the only part of his face that was visible, because the rest of it was covered by the top of a thick turtleneck sticking out of a puffy jacket, and a pulled down hood. Looking him over, Levi did not respond right away, noticing first that he was carrying a rather large bundle on his back. The second thing he noticed was that although the clothing he wore looked to be much better equipped for this type of weather than his had been, he was still covered in ice and snow - much more of it than had accumulated on Levi. How long had he been walking?

“I was camping north of this area when the storm started.” The man explained, his voice muffled. “I tried to make my way back down, but I noticed the smoke coming from your cabin. I know it’s inconvenient, but-”

“Get inside.” Levi said, opening the door all the way and stepping back. “Hurry up.”

Even just having it cracked like that was letting in freezing air and snow, and wasting precious warmth from his fire. He’d already decided when he saw the guy that he wasn’t going to leave him out there, so there was no point in standing around talking and letting all the heat out.

“Thank you.” The man said, sounding incredibly relieved as he walked through. “Really, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.”

Levi didn’t respond, just shuffled back over to the fireplace to sit down, subtly depositing his knife back into his pack as he did so. He watched as the man set his bag down and unzipped his jacket, pulling the hood off and tugging his turtleneck down over his nose and chin to reveal his face.

Although he may have kept his expression straight, on the inside Levi felt like a deer suddenly caught in headlights, taken aback at how good looking this man was. He had blonde hair and strong, handsome features, high cheekbones and a sharp jaw that couldn’t be hidden underneath the layer of thick stubble that was growing across his face.

He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days, which made sense since he said he’d been camping. On some men it made them look messy, but on this guy Levi thought it just made him look more rugged, and it was at approximately that point that he remembered he was still in his underwear.

The realization took him aback yet again, because _fuck_ , not only was he half naked in a one roomed cabin with a stranger, it was a _handsome_ stranger. Yeah, there was a reason he was half-dressed, but unfortunately, he wasn't sure if extreme survival situations would stave off any awkwardness.

However, he'd apparently already forgotten the desperation he'd felt when he'd first gotten inside himself, how he would've done anything to get warm, because the man started doing the exact same thing he had without even asking.

He removed his boots, gloves, and jacket, and then pulled his turtleneck off. He had a shirt underneath it that still seemed to be dry, but it rode up, giving Levi a glimpse of the white skin of his stomach and the bottom of defined abs covered in a brushing of dark blonde hair. He couldn't help but look, and even though the man tugged his shirt down quickly, it wasn't fast enough to keep Levi from getting an eyeful.

"Ah." He said then, looking at Levi, finally realizing that he was stripping in front of a stranger. "My pants are wet. And possibly my long johns."

Levi didn't respond - what would he say? - and just looked away with an awkward grimace, aware that his cheeks were burning with something other than the cold now: embarrassment. He heard the sounds of the man taking off his pants, though, and found himself peeking at him from out of the corner of his eye before he could stop himself.

Now he was clad in only his undershirt and a pair of tight, blue briefs that looked like they had seen better days, but it was hard for Levi to care about their faded color when all he could focus on was the man’s clearly oversized bulge.

 _Holy shit._ Levi found himself thinking, averting his eyes again when his cheeks started to burn hotter. At least he could blame it on the fire if they were red, he thought idly, staring into it while continuing to picture the outline of the man’s dick that he’d just seen. The image of it was quickly becoming seared into his brain, and Levi did his best to keep his eyes away from it as he looked back to watch him pull out a small, silver package from his backpack. It was a space blanket, he realized, the noisy crackling and shiny silver color giving it away as the man unfolded it.

“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t normally strip in front of strangers.” He said then, breaking the silence. He chuckled lightly, clearly trying to ease some of the awkward tension in the room with his words, and stepped forward. “Can I-”

He wanted to sit down in front of the fire, Levi realized, and it only took another quick glance for Levi to see that he was shivering even though he’d thrown the blanket over his shoulders. He was rubbing his hands together too and the muscles of his thighs looked tense, and Levi couldn’t help but pity him - just a little. Without uttering a word, he scooted over to make room, grabbing the piece of wood he’d been using as a poker to stoke the flames.

Immediately the man sat down and stuck his hands out towards the warmth, sighing with relief when it hit his fingers. For a moment, they sat in silence, Levi with the blanket wrapped around himself as tightly as possible so at least he wouldn’t be seen half naked, and the blonde man shifting a foot away from him to enjoy the fire.

After a moment, though, he cleared his throat. “Thank you again. I’m not sure I would have made it down the mountain if I hadn’t seen your smoke. I was lucky to come across it. My name is Erwin.”

“...Levi.” Levi muttered after a second’s pause, still not looking at Erwin, but aware of his eyes on him.

“Well, I know the circumstances are odd, but it's nice to meet you, Levi.” Erwin said softly. “How did you find this place?”

“It was on my map.”

“I see. Mine’s outdated. It was foolish of me to come out here without a new one. Were you hiking or camping, or both?”

“Hiking.”

“Which trail?”

“The 15 mile one.”

“That one is nice. Have you ever hiked it before?”

“No.”

“You would’ve enjoyed it. The view from the top is beautiful. Can I ask where you’re from?”

Levi scowled, quickly becoming irritated by Erwin’s incessant questioning. “Does it matter?”

“No.” Erwin said, pausing before he shrugged, looked away, and then quietly added: “We’re going to be stuck in here together for a while, you know.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean you need to know my life story.”

Levi was aware he was being rude, and while most people would have been put off by his behavior, surprisingly, Erwin just laughed.

“I was hardly-” He said, and then stopped, cutting himself off with a shake of his head, finally getting the hint that Levi didn’t want to talk.

In the ensuing silence, though, Levi began to feel more and more guilty with every minute that passed for his attitude. Erwin was just trying to make conversation with him because he was right: they were both stuck in this situation together whether they liked it or not. Likely, he was just trying to make it less awkward, but Levi had been an asshole to him and now the strained tension in the room felt even thicker than before. Sighing, he shifted, frowning in the direction of the fire before he opened his mouth.

“I’m from here.” He said, his decision to start talking again and give Erwin a break definitely not influenced by how cute he was. He bit his lip, and then asked a question of his own when Erwin only hummed in response. “Are you?”

“Yes, I am. I live on the west side of the city.”

“I live on the north.”

Erwin gave him a sideways glance, looking him over in a way that suggested he was wondering if Levi was going to snap at him again.

“Near the big library?” He asked, apparently decided that he was not.

“Yeah.”

Erwin smiled at his answer but didn’t say anything else, and Levi frowned.

“What, you don’t wanna talk now?” He asked, starting to feel frustration because he’d gone out of his comfort zone to talk to him when he didn’t have to, because he’d felt bad about being rude.

“I don’t mind talking. I’m just letting you lead the way.”

“Oh.”

More silence ensued while Levi stoked the fire again, trying to decide what to say, until Erwin ran a hand through his hair and asked another question.

“Do you mind if I ask what you do for a living?”

“I work at a bar. I’m in culinary school.”

“That sounds interesting. I’m a teacher.”

“A teacher?” Levi asked, turning to look at Erwin in confusion. “You don’t look like a teacher.”

At that, Erwin laughed again, loudly enough so that the sound filled the entire cabin. “What does that mean? Is it the beard?”

Levi squinted at him, his eyes taking in the handsome features of his face again, and nodded. He was tall, built, and seemed athletic - something that wasn’t hard for Levi to notice considering he was half naked. If he ignored the fact that he was completely biased by his attractive features, Levi thought that he looked more like a model than a teacher.

“Well, I don’t usually have this. I shave for school when I’m not camping.” Erwin said, rubbing the scruff on his chin, giving Levi a sideways glance before adding one more thing. “I regret that I’ve met you in such an untidy state.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, looking Erwin’s expression over. What the hell did that mean? Was he flirting, after they’d barely been sitting there for 30 minutes? Levi couldn’t tell and wasn’t sure how to take it, so he just interrupted their conversation for a moment to add more tinder to the fire, and then spoke again.

“Yeah, about that.” He said, poking the flames with his stick. “Its the middle of January, and it's a Thursday. Shouldn’t you be teaching, or whatever?”

“Normally, I would be, yes. But I’m on vacation for the week.”

“Vacation? You go camping for vacation?”

“What’s wrong with that? You’re a hiker, do you not like camping?”

“Its not bad.” Levi said, shrugging.

Just because he liked hiking didn’t automatically mean he had to like camping, but whatever. He didn’t hate it, he just wasn’t sure that spending a week without power or running water in the dirty woods was his idea of a good vacation.

“So why do you like hiking?”

“The city smells like shit.”

Now it was Erwin’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The air is nicer out here. Its clean.”

“That’s true.” Erwin said, nodding. “I enjoy the fresh air too. I like camping because it's relaxing, and everything is simple. I don’t have to do much work.”

“That sounds boring.”

“It’s not. I read or hike, or take a nap. Sometimes I fish, if there’s a lake nearby.”

“Well, either way, it looks like your shitty vacation is ruined now.”

“Yes.” Erwin agreed. He spoke quietly and then frowned, as if remembering his trek through the snow. “Its quite the storm out there. I know the weather in this area is hard to predict, but this is the worst blizzard I’ve seen. If it doesn’t let up soon, we may be in trouble."

“Huh? What the hell do you mean?” Levi asked, looking at him sharply.

This entire time, he’d only been thinking that he needed shelter for the night, fully expecting to be out of this situation by morning when he could hike back. Surely, the snow was going to stop by then, right?

“It was hard to tell, but while I was walking it didn’t seem like the clouds were moving much. You saw how hard it was coming down, right? By the time I got here, there was nearly a foot and a half already on the ground. If it keeps going like this for even a few more hours, we may not be able to get out of this cabin, much less down the mountain tomorrow.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Levi said, grimacing. “Can’t we just shove the snow out of the way even if it's blocking the door? Its just snow.”

“Probably, yes. Getting out of the cabin isn’t the real issue. But even now with this amount of snow, it would take you much longer to get down the mountain than normal, and you’d end up soaked and freezing. You don’t want to risk getting too far out and then realizing that you can’t make it back before nightfall, especially with your clothes.”

Erwin gestured behind him to the corner where Levi had laid his clothes out. Apparently, he’d noticed them at some point and observed that all he’d been wearing had been a sweater, a light jacket, jeans, and cloth gloves and boots. He was right that they weren’t the right kind of clothing for hiking in deep snow, but Levi was now more concerned with the fact that Erwin knew with certainty that he was sitting in his underwear.

He felt his cheeks burning again and frowned, subconsciously tightening the blanket around himself like he’d been doing all night, as if somehow, it would shield him from Erwin’s knowledge about the state of his dress.

“So what?” He muttered, his scowl growing sharper when he noticed Erwin’s eyes dropping down to where he held the blanket around himself. “We’re in a cabin. We have shelter, and a fire. Do you seriously think we’re going to be trapped in here for days?”

“I’m just saying, I don’t think it would be wise to attempt a descent until some of the snow has melted off. Once the sun comes out again it won’t take long for it to start disappearing, but sometimes these storms can last for days. Its rare, but it can happen. Either way though, I can’t make you stay if you want to leave.”

“Tch. Like I want to freeze to death.”

Erwin chuckled at that, his lips curling into a smile, amused for whatever reason by Levi’s response. “Well, how much wood do we have then? Is this it?”

He nodded towards the pile of broken wood and stuffing that had once been a chair, already a quarter of the way gone from what Levi had started with.

“Yeah. There might be some shit in that locker we can burn, but that’s about it.”

“Alright. For now, let’s not worry about it. We have enough in this pile for a while longer.” Erwin said, nodding again. “What about food?”

“I have some snacks. Peanuts, trail mix. Maybe a granola bar. There was an old can of beans in the locker if we get really fucking desperate.”

“That’s good. I have some snacks as well. Chips and cookies. Not exactly the best thing for a situation like this, but it will do.”

“Chips.” Levi snorted. “What kind of survivalist are you?”

“I’m not a survivalist, and this was all I was able to grab when I left my campsite. I had meat for steaks, but its all buried under snow now.”

Erwin frowned like he was sad about the lost steak, and Levi did not blame him. Talking about food like this made him realize how hungry he was, and as if on cue, his stomach growled in the silence. It was loud, and caused Erwin to give him an amused look.

“I’m hungry too. Let’s eat something.”

With that he stood up, discarding his space blanket and walking over to his pack, giving Levi a sudden and direct view of his ass. The shape of it was outlined very obviously from the tight material of his underwear, and there was no way Levi could stop how his eyes immediately latched onto it, especially when Erwin bent over to start digging around for food.

Levi was taken aback by the sight and froze, staring until Erwin stood up again and he had to turn his head away with a jerk so he wouldn’t get caught. Then he got up too, pausing for a moment to figure out how he could adjust the blanket to keep himself covered. He thought about tying it around under his arms, but that would look ridiculous, and it was already dragging the ground on him anyway. Sighing, he decided he should probably just not worry about it. After all, Erwin was in his underwear too, and it wasn't like they were in a normal situation.

So he just left the blanket draped around his shoulders and walked to his own pack, crouching down to dig out a small bag of trail mix. When he stood up and turned around, Erwin was still standing behind him, and Levi was immediately aware of the way his eyes lowered to take in the parts of his front that weren't covered by the blanket. He looked him over for only a second, but it was long enough for Levi to notice, and to wonder if Erwin was checking him out.

Levi was gay and thought Erwin was hot, and was admittedly more than a little curious about the size of his cock. If they had met in a bar or something, he'd definitely fuck him, or at least give him a blow job. In this place and in this situation, though, he'd assumed Erwin was straight because he didn't know anything about him.

But could he actually be gay, or bisexual? The way he'd looked at him just now suggested it, plus his potentially flirtatious comment from earlier. If he was, Levi thought, it could certainly make this disaster more interesting.

At that point Levi stopped himself, because they were, in fact, in the midst of a dangerous situation. They were stuck in a cabin that was currently on its way to being buried underneath several feet of snow, and they barely had any food or tinder for their fire. He shouldn't be worrying about Erwin's sexuality, or even contemplating how fucking handsome he was and how thick and muscular his thighs were. Now was not the time, and because of that, it was probably better that he didn't know which way he swung.

Erwin cleared his throat then, drawing Levi out of his thoughts and making him realize he was staring at Erwin's face with his mouth open. He snapped it shut and then looked away, grabbing at the blanket to wrap it all the way around himself again.

"Levi, ah-" Erwin started slowly, swallowing like he was forcing himself to push through the awkwardness. "Do you want some chips? I'll share with you."

"What?" Levi said with confusion, because that was the last thing he'd expected him to say.

"They're cheese curls."

"No. I'm eating trail mix."

"Suit yourself."

After that, Erwin went to sit on top of the bed while Levi retreated to his spot by the fire. Over time, it had warmed up the small cabin nicely, and Erwin didn't appear to be bothered by being uncovered anymore. He’d left his space blanket on the floor, sitting comfortable on top of the mattress while Levi felt like he was struggling to stay toasty even wrapped in covers of his own.

It was Erwin’s size, he thought, that must be helping him. He was fucking huge while Levi was small, and this was just another situation where his compact height was proving to be a detrimental annoyance.

This wasn’t the time for him to be thinking about that though, so he shifted his thoughts to their situation again, eating in silence with Erwin. For a moment, the only sounds in the room were that of the fire crackling and Erwin's crunching, until Levi spoke up about something that had been bothering him.

“What happens if one of us has to take a shit?”

Erwin stopped eating and looked around, as if he was just realizing for the first time that the cabin didn’t have an indoor bathroom.

“Go outside. Try not to get lost while looking for the outhouse.” He said. “Or, hope you don’t have to go.”

“Fuck. Its like we’re in prison.”

“Prisons have toilets, though.”

Levi stared at Erwin blankly, watching him eat another chip. Truthfully, the thought of taking a shit wasn’t what was actually bothering him at the time. He had to pee, something that he’d realized when Erwin first woke him up at the door. Since then it had only gotten worse, and he really, _really_ didn’t want to go outside.

If he was by himself he would just stick his dick out the window or the door, but he wasn’t sure how Erwin would react if he just did that without warning. All he knew was that his bladder was starting to hurt, and that if he didn’t go soon, he wasn’t going to be able to hold it in much longer.

“I have to take a piss.” He announced, finishing off his small bag of trail mix.

“Alright.”

“I’m gonna piss out the window.”

Erwin nodded, understanding that he didn’t want to leave the cabin, and then glanced away. “I won’t look.”

Levi stood up, rolling his eyes at Erwin’s announcement as if he was doing him some great favor by not being a creep and staring at him while he peed, and left the blanket on the floor. If Erwin wasn’t looking it didn’t matter, and he didn’t want it to get wet from any snow that might fly in or chilled from the outside air.

He walked over to the window and cracked it just a few inches, nearly hissing just from the blast of cold wind and snow that swirled in from outside to hit his thighs. _For fuck’s sake_ , he thought, grimacing and suddenly having the ludicrous thought that he was going to freeze his cock off. He was going to have to make this quick, and jerking his underwear down, he stood up onto his toes so he could angle himself out the window.

No matter how cold it was, he felt a lot better once he started relieving himself and the pressure on his bladder began to lessen. He leaned his head against the glass of the window and closed his eyes, standing there until he was done. Then he opened them again and for some reason, and had an overwhelming sense to look over his shoulder.

He did, turning his head sharply in Erwin’s direction, and immediately caught sight of him staring directly at his ass. He’d pulled his underwear down enough so that half of it was hanging out, and Erwin’s eyes were unmistakably locked onto it - until Levi saw him, anyway.

“Hey, what the fuck?!” He blurted, shoving his dick back where it belonged, pulling the fabric up, and slamming the window shut all in one fluid motion. “You shitty creep, were you staring at my ass?”

“I’m sorry.” Erwin said. He’d looked away immediately, averting his eyes so fast once Levi had moved that he might have thought he’d imagined it. If Erwin hadn’t apologized guiltily, anyway. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, Levi.”

“You didn’t mean to? Give me a break. What’s your problem?!”

“I-” Erwin started and then stopped, as if he couldn’t decide whether to say what he wanted to or not.

“What?”

“It's nothing. Never mind. I only looked for a second, but I’ve made you uncomfortable and I apologize.” Erwin said. He ran a hand through his hair as Levi stared - was it just him, or had his cheeks turned a bit pink? - and then chuckled lightly. “I don’t know what came over me. Perhaps you should kick me out of the cabin.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, finding that if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t actually feel all that uncomfortable. Most of his bluster was just an act because it had taken him off guard, and more than anything, he was intrigued. As far as he was concerned now, Erwin was _definitely_ not straight, and he wanted to know what he’d been about to say.

He crossed his arms and gave Erwin a glare. “You’re making it worse. Just spit it out.”

“Alright. If you insist.” Erwin paused for a moment, swallowed, and then took a deep breath. “It’s just a shame that we met in these circumstances. If it had been somewhere else, I would have asked you out by now.”

Now it was Levi’s turn to pause, unable to stop his brow from raising at Erwin’s words. He’d just got done convincing himself that it was a bad idea to be thinking about this shit when they were trapped not even twenty minutes ago, and now Erwin was basically telling Levi that he was attracted to him.

 _Bastard._ He thought half-heartedly, unable to actually be irritated when he felt a slight fluttering in his chest instead, because if they _had_ met somewhere else, if Erwin had asked him out like he’d said, then Levi’s answer would have most certainly been yes. He knew that already because he’d been thinking about it before, and apparently, Erwin had been too.

Now it was going to be a lot harder for Levi to convince himself that thinking about this kind of thing was a bad idea, especially when deep down, he couldn’t stop himself from curiously wondering what this conversation might lead to.  

“Is that so?” He said smoothly, keeping his face blank except for a single, raised eyebrow.

“It is.” Erwin answered to Levi’s growing fascination, eyeing him with more than obvious interest now. “Theoretically, if I had, would you mind telling me what your answer might be?”

“It depends on how you’d ask. Maybe you should show me.”

“Theoretically?”

“Yeah, theoretically.”

At that, Erwin smiled, a tiny, almost imperceptible upward curve of his lips that let Levi know he knew what he was doing. For a moment, though, Levi didn’t think he was going to play along, but then he cleared his throat, shifting on the bed so he could face Levi better.

“Alright. Say we were in a bar. Maybe I was at the one you work at and you were there, and I noticed you when you took my order. I would probably try to find out what time you got off, and then ask if you wanted to have a drink somewhere else after.”

“I don’t like it when customers hit on me.” Levi said. It was true, he didn’t, and even though he might have been intrigued by Erwin and made an exception, he wasn’t sure. It would probably depend on what kind of mood he was in at the time. “Try again.”

“You’re going to make this difficult, aren’t you?”

“You wanna know what I’d say or not?”

Erwin had chuckled and Levi had shrugged, still maintaining his carefully constructed, nonchalant facade. However, Erwin paused before he spoke again, and what he said next made Levi’s fucking ears burn.

“I do. Very much, I have to admit. I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off of you since I got here.”

“Yeah?” Levi said, his expression dropping into a scowl when Erwin’s words caught him off guard and made him go red-faced, much to his mixed embarrassment and delight. “Then you should probably be able to come up with something better than asking me out for drinks when I just got done serving them all night. Let’s hear it.”

“Fair enough. You said you were in culinary school, too, right? I imagine that means you do a lot of grocery shopping. Maybe I saw you in the market.”

“I don’t usually shop on the chip aisle.”

“I can be quite clumsy when I’m reading or distracted by something.” Erwin continued, ignoring Levi’s teasing. “Perhaps I was looking at the back of a package and ran into you when you came around a corner, and you dropped your basket and spilled pasta sauce.”

“You think crashing into me and making a fucking mess will get me to go out with you?”

“What if I apologized and helped you gather your things, and offered to take you out to dinner to make up for it? Italian, since that's what you were cooking."

Levi bit his lip, thinking. Erwin's new scenario was a lot better than the first one, and he could almost picture it: he’d be shopping, minding his own business in the store, rounding a corner only to suddenly find himself barreled into by some huge idiot. Levi didn't think Erwin was stupid, but that's certainly what he would call him, because his first reaction would be a large amount of cursing when his basket fell to the floor and shit went everywhere.

 _"What the fuck?!"_ He'd blurt, automatically bending down to pick up his things and ready to snap, probably until he looked up to find a handsome, built, blonde-haired and blue-eyed stranger crouching in front of him.

 _"I'm so sorry, please forgive me."_ Levi could imagine Erwin saying, wearing the same guilty expression he'd had on his face when he'd been caught staring at Levi's ass a few minutes ago.

Levi, on the other hand, would probably be stuck between a mixture of annoyance and surprise, just like he'd been when Erwin had irritatingly crashed his cabin and then revealed his face.

 _"Let me make it up to you."_ Erwin would say then, just as he'd described, and although Levi would want to be mad and say no, he didn't think he'd be able to refuse Erwin's nice smile and the fact that he was exactly his type.

 _Smooth._ Levi thought. Charming, too, although he'd never admit that's what he liked about it. He would at least admit, though, that he did know how he’d respond:

"Yeah, fine, even though I make my own pasta sauce, so I wouldn’t have any of that store bought shit in my basket.”

“That makes sense.” Erwin said, giving him a smile. “I guess I’d better make sure to take you to a nice restaurant then.”

“Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“What would we do after?”

Levi couldn’t help it, finding himself becoming more and more intrigued by this conversation as they went on. Plus, he’d become aware that he was in his underwear yet again, and this time instead of being embarrassed, he’d licked his lips and let his eyes lower noticeably down over Erwin’s covered chest.

“I suppose that would depend on how dinner went.”

“Dinner wasn’t bad. It was better than trail mix and cheese curls.”

Erwin paused, giving him an obvious, lingering stare while he thought. He was probably wondering how far he should take this, wrestling with the voice in the back of his mind that was telling him to stop and change the subject. Levi was too, but he was also imagining himself on a date with Erwin, at dinner where he would maybe have some wine, where he could slide his foot up against Erwin’s under the table and flirt with him as he pleased.

Then, afterward, maybe Erwin would kiss him outside, grab his ass since he apparently liked looking at it so much, and invite him back to his place. The thought filled Levi with enough warmth and anticipation - even for something that they were still technically just discussing theoretically - that he stepped forward, causing Erwin to open his mouth in pause before he spoke.

“Well, in that case, I-”

Levi didn’t get to find out if he would theoretically end up at Erwin’s home or not, because suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud, drawn-out, bone-chilling howl. It made them both freeze and all the hairs on the back of Levi’s neck stand up, and for a moment, they just stared at each other in surprise and silence.

“What the fuck was that?” Levi said a moment later, speaking quietly as if whatever it was might overhear him.

They’d been so engrossed in their conversation that it was like they’d forgotten they were stuck in a shack in the middle of the woods, halfway down a mountain that was currently getting buried underneath a raging blizzard. It had fallen dark while they’d been talking, too, something that Levi had barely noticed because the fire was bright enough now to keep the small cabin lit, and it had even started to - dare he say it? - feel cozy.

But then the sound had come out of nowhere and startled him, catching him so off guard that fear had shot through his veins like ice. It felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head, and whatever comfort level they’d managed to maintain over the past few minutes was gone now.

It had been sucked out of the room in an instant, and before Erwin could answer, they heard the sound again.This time, however, it was echoed immediately by another one, and then another, and Levi realized what it was: a pack of wolves.

“Shit.” Levi swore under his breath, his head turning in the direction of the window.

He’d gotten over his momentary shock and had started to calm down a little, but not much, because although they were inside, the howling had been close.

“Wolves. I’d heard a pack of them had moved into this area before I left for my camp, but I haven’t seen any sign of them.” Erwin murmured, sliding off the bed and walking towards the window.

“You camped in an area with wolves, on purpose? Are you a dumbass?”

Levi followed Erwin to the window, still talking in a low voice as if not to alert the wolves - stupid, because they could surely smell them inside the cabin if they were nearby.

"They don't normally attack humans." Erwin explained.

Levi frowned but didn't respond, standing beside Erwin and peering out the glass. The wind had let up some but it was still snowing, and they couldn't see very far, especially through the glare created by the glow from the fire. They had to lean very close, and if Levi squinted, he could just make out a few dark shapes standing against the forest’s trees.

For half a second, Levi found himself thinking that perhaps the wolves hadn't been as close as he'd thought or they'd been heading away, but then, he spotted another dark shape, and this one was moving right towards them.

There was another behind it, Levi saw, and another after that, and then another until he counted five total wolves emerging from the forest and heading into their vicinity.

"You're sure they don't want to eat us?" He asked, watching the wolves wander around the outside of their cabin.

It wasn't that he was afraid - his fear earlier had been from surprise, mostly - because they were inside, after all. But these wolves were certainly bigger and stronger than your average dog, and he imagined that if they were desperate enough, they wouldn't have much trouble breaking through the shack's rickety, half-broken door.

Coming face to face with a wild animal like this in its natural habitat was always a humbling experience, and right now, the wolves and the eerie view they had of the forest were just adding to the general unease Levi felt about their situation. No sooner had the thought about the wolves busting down the door crossed his mind than Levi suddenly heard scratching and snuffling coming from the other side of it.

"Fuck-" He hissed, spinning around and preparing to lunge for his knife.

How many more were they? Had they surrounded the cabin, and was this one testing the strength of the door?

But then he felt a hand on his shoulder - Erwin - steadying him in a reassuring grip.

"Levi, it's alright. They aren't hunting. Look."

Turning back around at Erwin's words, Levi saw that while he’d been looking at the door, a single wolf had gotten close to the window. It's head was down and it was sniffing at the base of the cabin, hot puffs of its breath visible in the darkness. The light from the fire was enough so that at this vicinity, Levi could even make out the colors of its fur - a mottled mix of grey, white, and black.

Erwin seemed to be right, whatever the wolves were doing, their behavior didn't appear threatening. As some of the others got closer, Levi could see that they were smaller than the one underneath the window - adolescents, perhaps? - and he watched one of them leap around its companion, throwing glistening snow up into the air.

They were playing, he realized, when he saw another bounding through a deep pile of the stuff excitedly. It approached one of the other two and began nipping at its legs, and before long, the three of them were rolling around together, their playful growling and snarling reaching Levi’s ears even through the wooden walls of the cabin.

It was actually quite an extraordinary sight, one that Levi would’ve never thought he’d see outside of a nature documentary or some shit, but it was over before he knew it. After a minute, the wolf that had been sniffing around under the window approached the others, licking at one’s snout before they began to head out of sight. The one that had been exploring around the door reappeared too, following them not back into the forest, but downwind of the cabin in the opposite direction, leaving Levi and Erwin again standing there staring at nothing.

“Well, that was quite something.” Erwin said, turning to look down at Levi.

His hand was still touching Levi’s back from where he’d grabbed him earlier, and he made no move to let go. His fingers were warm and firm, and had Levi still been in the same mood from earlier, he would have liked it. Unfortunately, though, even though nothing bad had happened the appearance of the wolves had left him feeling anxious again, almost as much as he’d been when he’d thought he was going to freeze to death.

It was just a reminder of their situation, and of how bad it could possibly get. They were trapped and essentially helpless, miles away from safety, civilization, and electricity, and if the wolves had decided to attack or something they would’ve been fucked. Potentially, they would still be stuck here tomorrow night too if the damn snow didn’t let up, and at that point, they barely even had any wood left.

Levi’s sudden downswing in mood certainly wasn’t helped by the cold, which had started to seep into his bones and chill him again after so long away from the fire and his blanket. Frowning, he absent-mindedly shook off Erwin’s hand and stalked back over to it, wrapping it around himself and shoving the remainder of their wood into the fireplace.

All that was left were scraps now, and the sight only made Levi more tense.

“Levi, what’s wrong?” Erwin asked him after a moment, apparently sensing his tension when he started aggressively poking the fire with his stick.

“How the fuck are we going to last another night like this?”

“What do you mean?” Erwin chuckled. “I’m certain we aren’t going to die, or anything like that.”

Levi scowled as Erwin laughed, glaring into the fire and tightening the blanket around himself. How could Erwin be so upbeat about this? Yeah, he didn’t think that they were going to die either, but the thought of being stuck in here for even an extra night was, at this point, almost enough to make him risk trekking down the mountain the next day no matter how deep the snow and ice was.

He wasn’t a camper like Erwin, he wasn’t used to this. He liked hiking because of the fresh air and the beautiful views it gave him, but that was about it. He didn’t enjoy being unable to take a bath or shave, sleeping in a tent on some half-assed, uncomfortable excuse for a bed. He liked comfort and security and clean clothes, and although he’d been holding it together pretty well up until now, the wolves had apparently just been a tad too much nature for him.

“This is shit.” He mumbled, shaking his head. “I want to get out of here.”

“I didn’t think cabin fever would set in so quickly.” Erwin said, causing Levi to give him a scathing look over his shoulder.

He was wearing a small smile, but it faded as he took his attention off Levi and stepped forward. He was headed for his pack, and crouched down to begin rooting around in it.

“Maybe this will make you feel better. Do you like hot chocolate?”

Levi’s eyebrows raised when Erwin turned around, holding a large canteen of what he assumed was water, and the most beaten up packet of hot chocolate Levi had ever seen. The front of it was so faded that he could barely read the label on it, and he wondered how long it had been stuffed inside Erwin’s backpack.

“Yeah, when it isn’t a hundred years old.” He answered, shrugging.

If he was being honest he would’ve preferred tea, but hot chocolate didn’t taste bad, and it would certainly warm him up just as well as any other hot beverage.

“It isn’t expired.” Erwin explained, sitting down next to him.

In addition to the canteen and hot chocolate, he had a metal thermos and two tiny tin cups, one of which he handed off to Levi.

“I only have one pack, but its enough to split between the two of us.”

Levi didn’t respond, only watched as Erwin poured some water from the canteen into the thermos and set it as close to the fire as he dared. Then, he opened the pack and divided its contents between the two small cups, setting his down on the ground when he was done.

“Watch that. I have something else you might like.”

Levi’s expression twisted into one of confusion, keeping his eyes locked on Erwin as he walked over to his pack again. He fumbled around in it and came back a few seconds later, a small, rectangular object held in his hands.

It was a portable DVD player, Levi realized, when he sat down next to him again and opened it.

“I use this sometimes when I’m camping and can’t sleep. I can’t charge it out here, of course, but I think it has a little bit of battery left. Would you like to watch?”

Levi shrugged, staring down at it for a moment before peeking over to glance at Erwin from the side. “Okay.”

He knew what Erwin was doing: trying to distract him so he wouldn’t dwell on their shitty situation. With that knowledge, Levi wasn’t sure it was going to work, but it wasn’t like they had anything else to do either. Anything would be better than sitting there and staring into the fire, so Erwin gave him a reassuring smile and turned on the player.

The DVD he had in there was from a season of some stupid sitcom, and they got through two and a half episodes before the thing died on them. By then, they’d drank their hot chocolate after the water in the thermos had gotten warm enough. It wasn’t boiling so the drink was lukewarm, and even though it was probably centuries old despite Erwin’s protests, it actually tasted pretty good.

Levi felt less chilled after drinking it and after sitting in front of the fire for a while, and his mood had improved some despite the cheesy television show being something that he would never have watched otherwise. Erwin liked it, apparently, because he laughed several times, and although Levi just rolled his eyes, he found the sound made him feel just as warm on the inside as the hot chocolate had.

“Better?” Erwin asked, when he closed the lid on the DVD player. “Were you able to forget you’re trapped in a cabin for at least a few minutes?”

Before Levi could open his mouth to say that even if he had Erwin had just reminded him again, he saw that Erwin had a smudge of hot chocolate on his upper lip and stopped.

“Uh, you’ve got a-” Levi mumbled, gesturing and then cutting himself off as his gaze lingered on Erwin’s mouth.

Erwin looked at him in confusion, and before he could stop himself, Levi was reaching up, brushing his thumb across Erwin’s lip to wipe the hot chocolate away. In an instant Erwin had caught his hand and locked eyes with him, the sudden intense focus of his gaze making Levi freeze. His fingers were warm and the hold on his wrist firm, and Levi’s heart started hammering wildly in his chest when a second later, Erwin leaned forward to kiss him.

It was a soft kiss, chaste compared to the things Levi had been imagining earlier when they’d been discussing their hypothetical date. Erwin’s lips moved over his gently, lightly, the touch so faint that Levi might have thought he’d been imagining it if Erwin still wasn’t holding onto his wrist. Still, he found himself leaning forward for more when Erwin pulled away, opening his eyes to stare into Levi’s. Looking up at him, Levi blushed.

“Does that answer your question?” Erwin said, letting go of Levi so that he had to place his hand on Erwin’s shoulder to steady himself.

“What question?” Levi breathed.

He licked his lips, tasting hot chocolate. He didn’t have the slightest idea what the fuck Erwin was talking about, but it was hard to care when now, he just wanted to do that again. Without waiting for an answer he leaned forward, tugging at Erwin’s shirt to get him to duck his head down so he could reach his lips again. They kissed once more, Levi moving his mouth much more insistently than the first time, and began to lean into each other before Erwin spoke again.

“About what I would do if dinner went well.”

“That’s it?”

Erwin chuckled. “Well, its only the first date.”

They talked between continuing to plant their lips together, murmuring the words quietly as it began to grow more heated. Erwin was a good kisser, and Levi found himself practically melting against him with just a few slick caresses of his tongue against his own. It was hard to concentrate on what he was saying, but somehow he managed to respond, grasping at Erwin’s undershirt tightly with one hand before speaking.

“Theoretically?”

“Yes, theoretically.”

"Well, theoretically, you don't have to pretend to be a gentleman around me."

"Pretend?"

The tone of Erwin's voice held mock offense, and he pouted playfully until Levi nipped at his bottom lip.

"You're kissing me now, aren't you?" He said, with the intent of ending their game. "We haven't even been on a date, remember? Or are you the one with cabin fever now?"

"Maybe, but I think it's a different kind."

Erwin's lips were still hovering right above Levi's and he felt the smile on them when they kissed again. He’d spoken in such a low tone that it sent shivers down Levi's spine, and the implications of what he said made him flush from his hairline to the bottom of his neck. The way Erwin was kissing him now certainly backed it up, and just like that, all their talking was over. It was obvious this was going to lead to something else, and Levi, ready to climb into Erwin's lap at any second, felt his heart rate increase and his breath beginning to quicken.

Suddenly, though, Erwin stopped and moved away, and Levi found himself staring at his reddened, wet lips in confusion.

"Levi, do you hear that?" He murmured quietly, a frown on his face.

Levi squinted, listening for a moment but hearing only silence. "Hear what?"

"Nothing."

"What the fuck are you-" Levi started, only to realize with a widening of his eyes what Erwin had meant.  

The fire was out.

A glance to his left confirmed it, and he shifted off his raised knees, sitting back on his ass as he felt his mood plummet again. Erwin had noticed the silence, the absence of the fire crackling that they'd gotten used to over their hours spent here, somehow over everything else that they’d been doing. That's what he'd meant by nothing, and he'd said it in such a way that echoed the return of Levi’s tense feelings.

Their once blazing fire had been reduced to nothing but faintly glowing embers while they were making out, and all they had left to feed it were scraps that wouldn’t last long or generate much heat. In its absence, he already felt colder, and a quick glance to the window told Levi that it was still snowing.

"Fuck." He swore under his breath, glancing up at Erwin. "What do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do, not until morning. I don't think it's wise to go outside at night with wolves in the area. When the sun comes out, we can try to gather some wood."

"Won't it be wet?"

Even as he asked, Levi knew he was right. He might not be an outdoorsman, but he wasn't stupid. Melting snow would soak into every tree, branch, and piece of wood outside, making it damp and extremely difficult to burn even if they managed to find any.

Erwin nodded. "Yes. Hopefully it will be sunny so we can sit whatever we find out to dry, though, and maybe we’ll have burnable wood by afternoon.”

"That sounds shitty."

"It is. But, we'll be alright tonight. It will be cold, but we’re not wet, and the fire has heated it up enough in here so that we at least shouldn’t be in danger of hypothermia."

"Shouldn’t?"

"As best as I can tell."

Erwin spoke softly, a grim look on his face, and Levi rolled his eyes, grabbing at his blanket again to wrap it around himself tightly.

He wanted to believe him, and logic told him that he was right and they would probably be fine. But after the exhausting day he’d had and coming so close to nearly freezing to death, he knew he didn’t want to experience cold like that ever again, and he couldn’t help the worries from creeping in that he might have to.

His fretting quickly got the better of him, and just like that, the mood in the cabin shifted, going from one of heated, electric excitement to tense foreboding. Levi had been ready to throw off his blanket and suck Erwin’s dick right there, hot and bothered by their kissing and wanting more. Now he felt apprehensive, and even Erwin seemed to be affected by the turn of events this time.

The next hour or so was spent in silence while they watched what remained of the fire turn to dull ash, with the tension making it easy for Levi to lose his boner.

“Well.” Erwin said finally, shifting to stand up. “We should probably get some rest. It might be a long day tomorrow. I’m going to eat again and have a drink first.”

Levi nodded absentmindedly, listening to the sounds of Erwin walking across the floor to rummage around in his pack. He heard him crunching, and decided that he might as well follow suit in the hopes that he’d need the energy for making it down the mountain tomorrow. He retrieved his remaining bag of trail mix and his canteen, and ate it quickly before washing it down with some water.

By then Erwin had finished his snack, and was facing Levi and gesturing towards the window.

“I’m going to, ah-”

“Please tell me you’re not about to shit out the window.” Levi said, shoving his trash into the bottom of his backpack.

“No.” Erwin chuckled. “I’m going to pee before bed.”

Levi nodded, looking away as he heard rustling and then the sounds of Erwin opening the window. Then he heard another noise, a hiss that sounded like someone sucking in air through their teeth.

“Cold, isn’t it?” He said, actually biting back a smile when he remembered how frosty the air had been on the tip of his dick.

“Yes.”

Erwin sounded a bit strained when he answered, and Levi couldn’t help but look in his direction out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t pulled his underwear down halfway like Levi had, but the way he was standing with his hips thrust towards the window gave him a terrific view of the outline of the tightened muscles of his ass.

Immediately he blushed and looked away, remembering that he had yelled at Erwin for doing this exact same thing hours earlier.

Although, he thought, taking another quick look as Erwin finished up, _technically_ he hadn’t told him not to look like Levi had.

He was smart enough to not get caught, at least, and had averted his gaze before Erwin turned around. He only looked back at him when he walked over to retrieve his space blanket from where he’d left it, and carried it over to get comfortable on the bed.

“Levi?” He said, after he’d sat down, covered himself, and looked over at him.

“What?”

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, although he’d known this was coming since Erwin had walked into his one room, one bed only cabin. At some point, they were going to have to sleep, and at some point, they were going to have to decide who got the floor and who got the bed. Or rather, that was what he’d imagined before they’d discussed dating and made out, before they’d nearly ended up on the bed for a reason other than sleeping.

Now, Erwin was offering to share it with him after he’d claimed it, and Levi didn’t exactly find the thought repulsive. It was the opposite, of course, but the only problem was that after his last downswing in mood he’d convinced himself again that fooling around with Erwin was a mistake.

They were currently stuck in a situation that was teetering on the edge of life or death, after all, and things had gotten out of hand before. He knew it, and he suspected that Erwin thought so too, because he seemed to be approaching this topic very gingerly.

“I’m only asking because I don’t want you to think I’m hogging the bed.” He added a moment later. “And for the purposes of staying warm.”

“Like you need to worry about staying warm.” Levi said, practically slumping over onto his side.

“Well, I meant for you-”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Levi, your body temperature-”

“I told you, I’ll be fine. Piss off.”

He was aware that he’d snapped and sounded irritated, but it was because he was. Of course he didn’t want to sleep on the fucking ground, but he didn’t trust himself to get into bed with Erwin, and once again, he found himself lamenting their entire situation in general while he tried to get comfortable on the cold, hard, and probably filthy floor of the cabin.

“Alright. Goodnight, then.” Erwin responded, whatever else he’d been about to say before dying in the face of Levi’s rudeness.

Levi just grunted in response, and listened as Erwin rolled over, presumably to close his eyes and go to sleep. He tried to do the same, after squirming around under the blanket in an effort to get comfortable. It was hard, and he had to readjust nearly every five minutes no matter how he was lying.

Finally, though, he settled down, but no sooner had he started to relax than he realized what Erwin had been trying to tell him before. As his body began to sink into sleep his internal temperature was getting lower, and with the cabin getting colder because of the lack of fire, he’d already been on the verge of having a chill anyway.

Now it was getting worse, and he found himself curling up into a ball underneath the blanket, trying to ignore his freezing fingers and toes. Despite everything, he finally managed to fall asleep, although it couldn’t have been for more than 20 minutes before he woke up with his teeth chattering.

“Levi.” A voice said in the darkness, causing him to still after he’d shifted and cursed under his breath. “You’re shivering. Come here.”

It was Erwin, of course, apparently still awake - or at least enough for Levi’s squirming and shaking to get his attention.

Sighing, he cursed once more, because he knew what Erwin was asking again, and at this point, that it was the only option he had if he wanted to keep warm. He was being stubborn, but the short time he’d spent on the floor already had been awful, and it didn’t take him long to give up his resistance and change his mind.

“Yeah.” He agreed simply, climbing to his feet and shuffling over. “Just stay on your side of the bed.”

“Of course.” Erwin responded, scooting over as much as he could politely.

Levi laid down with his back to Erwin as they readjusted and combined their covers, hoping that just his close proximity and the addition of the noisy space blanket would be enough to keep him warm. Right now, he just wanted to sleep, and he would be damned if he had to ask Erwin to cuddle him.

Luckily, it seemed to be working, because after lying there for a few minutes he began to feel warmer already. Unluckily, though, he barely had any room to move, because the bed was tiny and Erwin was not. He was so close that even if Levi scooted backwards an inch, he knew his ass would be pressing against Erwin’s, and if he moved forward anymore, he would be hanging off the damn mattress.

It wasn’t the best, but it was much, much better than the floor, so despite the lack of space he managed to start drifting off quite quickly once he stopped shivering. Erwin had as well, and lulled by the sound of his soft snores, Levi eventually fell into a deep sleep, interrupted only once when he woke up chilled again because Erwin was hogging the blankets.

In his groggy, half-awake state, he didn’t give a shit about his resolve from earlier, not even realizing what he was doing when he curled up against Erwin to chase the cold away. He was exhausted from the day’s events and fell back asleep within seconds, the last thing he remembered thinking how warm Erwin’s chest was when he wrapped an arm around him. That was how he woke up the next morning, still pressed against Erwin’s side with half of his limbs thrown over him.

“Levi.” Was the first thing he heard, a soft rumble coming from above where his head was pillowed on Erwin’s shoulder.

He lowered his brows with his eyes still closed, momentarily confused and not fully awake yet, and stirred when Erwin gently shook him.

“Shit, _what_ -” He groaned under his breath, coming to enough after that to realize where he was, what he was doing, and just who he was practically lying on top of.

His eyes flew open and he flinched, but didn’t move, finding himself frozen in place with his heart hammering in his chest and his cheeks growing pink. Erwin, of course, didn’t seem bothered, not in the least. He was smiling, Levi saw, his eyes wide open and bright as if he’d been awake for hours.

“Levi, look.” He said, shaking him again slightly and nodding towards the window.

It was just past dawn he saw, after twisting around to look outside the glass, and he could see the sky. The storm was gone and it had stopped snowing, and he felt an immediate rush of relief go through him after realizing it. Even though the sun couldn’t have been up for more than an hour he could tell that its rays had already raised the temperature dramatically, causing the drifts outside to begin to melt.

Levi could hear it, or rather, he could hear water - melted snow running down the roof of the cabin and dripping all around. It was probably one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard, because the fact that it was disappearing meant that they’d be getting the fuck out of there.

Looking away from the window and back at Erwin, Levi saw that the smile was still on his face, and the meaning behind it confirmed that he was right.

"I think we'll get out of here today after all." Erwin said, his words giving Levi a feeling of such reassurance that he actually smiled.

"Hah. Thank fuck." He said, breathing out a sigh as if he was letting go of all the tension he’d been holding onto. Now he didn't have to worry about what they were going to do for wood, or figure out how they'd get more food if they ran out. Now, he would be able to go some place warm with electric heat, instead of spending another night in a cramped shack in his underwear with Erwin. "I don't know if I could've made it another night in this shitty place."

Erwin chuckled, bringing up a hand to gently grasp Levi’s bare shoulder. “It wasn’t so bad. At least the company was nice.”

Levi had been temporarily distracted by the consolation that he would be going home that day, forgetting for the moment that he was half naked and sharing a bed with another man. But Erwin’s words and his sudden touch brought him back,making Levi realize that he was still pressed up against him, warm and toasty underneath the blankets with their limbs tangled together.

Immediately, his thoughts were flooded with the recent memory of everything that had happened between them the night before - the flirting, their discussion about a ‘theoretical’ date, and of course, the way Erwin had kissed him in front of the fire. His head was the only thing sticking out from underneath the blanket, and although the air in the cabin outside of it was still chilly, Levi’s ears suddenly felt like they were burning.

He knew he should move, should roll off him because he didn’t even know how he’d ended up sprawled over his chest in the first place - hadn’t they agreed to stay on their respective sides of the bed? They definitely had, Levi remembered, but somehow, he wasn’t surprised this had happened, and now that he was here he realized he didn’t want to move.

He’d averted his eyes out of embarrassment when Erwin had spoken, but after a moment of silence he looked back at him, noting that he’d made no movement to crawl out from under him either. He found Erwin with his head pillowed back on one arm, gazing up at him. His smile was gone, but he didn’t look angry - instead, he looked curious.

The next thing Levi knew, they were kissing.

It happened in a split second, with Erwin lifting his head up suddenly to capture Levi’s lips with his own. It was soft, the touch barely there at first like it had been the night before, like Erwin was making sure it was alright.

As far as Levi was concerned it was more than alright, though, and no sooner had Erwin kissed him than he was closing his eyes, leaning into it and opening his mouth. Then Erwin was sliding the hand on his shoulder up the back of his neck, winding his fingers in his hair to drag him forward. His other arm wrapped around him too, and just like that, they picked up where they left off the night before.

Levi was already half on top of Erwin anyway, so as things quickly got more heated he just climbed over to plant one thigh on each side of his torso, straddling him. He made sure to keep the blankets over his shoulders, absentmindedly tugging at them when they started to slip between kisses because, well, the sun might be out, but it was still fucking cold. Underneath the thick fabric there was trapped warmth, a cozy heat that seemed to echo that which they were sharing through their lips and tongues and every inch of their pressed together bare skin.

It grew hotter the more excited they got, their kisses becoming so hurried that Erwin’s beard scratched roughly against Levi’s face. He’d planted his hands on Erwin’s chest, feeling the firm muscle underneath through the fabric of his shirt, and soon after Erwin’s hands started to wander too.

They slid down Levi’s back and came to rest on his ass, one palm planted over each cheek. Levi felt him rubbing, kneading, his fingers digging in firmly enough so that he arched into his warm hands, purring within minutes from the touch and the way he was kissing him. But then, suddenly, Erwin squeezed, pulling away to gaze up at Levi when he flinched.

“I wanted to do that all night.” He murmured, groping him roughly again, watching as Levi bit his lip and rocked back, then lowered his head to kiss at Erwin’s neck.

His skin was salty and he smelled like the outdoors, but Levi didn’t mind. He mouthed at his adam’s apple, nosed at the prickly skin of his stubble while he let Erwin continue to grab at his ass.

“Yeah?” He said after a moment, looking up. “Well, there’s something I wanted to do too.”

“What’s that?”

Rather than respond to Erwin’s question, Levi just squirmed out of his grip, disappearing under the blankets and crawling backwards until he was settled between his thighs.

Immediately, his gaze latched onto Erwin’s bulge, hard and straining upward against the fabric of his underwear. He’d been wondering about the size since he’d first seen it, soft and nestled delicately between his legs after Erwin had removed his pants. He’d thought it looked above average then, but now that the outline of it was clearly visible beneath its confines, he noted with a muted delight that his estimates had definitely been an understatement.

With that realization, he was unable to contain his curiosity any longer. Licking his lips, he traced over it with a thumb before hooking his fingers in the elastic waistband of Erwin’s briefs, tugging them down over his hips with a jerk.

As he suspected, he wasn’t disappointed.

Erwin’s cock sprung free, thick and swollen and bobbing slightly when it was released. The sight was mouthwatering, Levi thought, his eyes tracing the curve of it down to where it was framed by a pair of heavy hanging balls. He leaned forward, nudging them with his nose before he latched his mouth onto the base of Erwin’s cock, his fingers wrapping around the top of it to tug down his foreskin and tease at the head. It was slick, wet with beading pre-come, and as he kissed and lapped a trail upward, he heard Erwin exhale softly above him.

He felt something press on top of his head suddenly from beneath the blankets, a heavy touch that must have been Erwin’s hand. That, plus the way he spread his legs to give him more room, was all the encouragement Levi needed to take him into his mouth, breathing in through his nose as his lips stretched around the tip. He slid his fingers down to the base of him to palm at his balls, earning a quiet, breathy gasp that sounded out in the silence of the cabin.

Underneath the covers like this, Levi’s breath was warm and wet, ghosting back against his face every time he exhaled. The scent of Erwin down here was strong, too, invading his nostrils and making him dizzy, and as Levi took him in deeper to let the head press against the back of his throat, he couldn’t help but moan. He sucked around his cock, hollowing out his cheeks and moving to dig his fingers into his thighs, pulling off noisily when Erwin’s hips lifted up from the mattress.

Levi licked at the excess saliva that had dripped down the length of him, opening his eyes from where he’d squeezed them shut in concentration when he felt Erwin’s hand suddenly grabbing at one of his. He must have snaked an arm underneath the blankets, the touch turning into a gentle tug that spurred Levi to scramble back up and over his torso.

As soon as he was in reach Erwin kissed him, rolling Levi over onto his back so he was on top. He panted between the movements of their lips, messy and desperate now because of arousal and impatience, reaching around to wind fingers into blonde hair. Erwin’s weight was heavy on him and he arched, squirmed beneath him so he could feel it that much better. He liked it and wanted to feel more of it, his body told him vaguely, specifically while Erwin was holding him in place and thrusting into him.

“I wanna fuck.” He rasped, jerking Erwin’s head away suddenly by his hair, his eyes immediately going lower to gaze at his glowing pink cheeks and swollen lips.

The look on his face suggested that the good-mannered, goofy teacher who had laughed at shitty jokes on television was gone, replaced now by someone who would have no problem keeping up with Levi’s roughness. The thought almost made him tremble, and he nearly did again when Erwin ran a hand down his side, stopping to pinch a nipple before he dragged it lower to tug his underwear over his ass.

“Well.” He murmured, dipping his head down to suckle at the sensitive nub he’d just tweaked, the feel of his mouth and lips gentle in comparison. “I hope you have lube in your bag then, because I certainly don’t.”

“Why would I have it? I was hiking. Are you telling me you don’t jerk off while you’re camping?”

“I didn’t say that, but grabbing it wasn’t at the top of my priorities list when I was trying to escape a snowstorm.”

Levi groaned in frustration and annoyance, throwing his head back and rutting up against Erwin at the same time, torn between continuing what they were doing and stopping so he wouldn’t work himself up any further. They could still do other things, of course, but by now he’d touched Erwin’s cock, felt how heavy and thick it was in his hand, and nearly every thought after that had been about how much he wanted to feel it in his ass.

“How about a raincheck?” Erwin murmured, his lips against Levi’s collarbone now, his teeth digging into his neck. He didn’t wait for Levi to answer. “In the meantime, we’ll just have to come up with something else.”

Something else turned out to be Erwin rolling off of him, repositioning them both so that they were on their sides facing each other. Levi knew what he was going for, of course, and slung a leg over his hip, shifting until he was close enough to him so that Erwin could wrap one big, warm hand around both their cocks.

Levi hadn’t realized how much he’d been aching, and when Erwin touched him he nearly hissed, the sound turning into a breathy moan when he first felt the friction from Erwin stroking them. Erwin’s larger cock felt good pressed tightly against his, the hardness and heat of it nearly engulfing his own.

They moved together slowly at first, until Levi started bucking his hips up faster, trying to grind himself against Erwin’s cock and feel as much of the friction from his hand as he could. He’d propped himself up on one arm but was grasping Erwin’s shoulder with the other, his fingers digging into the muscle for purchase, holding on as Erwin’s lips found his nose and mouth and cheeks over and over again.

He kissed him anywhere he could reach until the movements of both his hand and their hips began to grow more erratic, less controlled and jerky to match their ragged breathing. Those were the only sounds in the cabin other than their low moans and groans, plus the rustling of the blankets and the creaking of the mattress around them as they moved.

Levi was the first to come a minute later, squeezing his eyes shut and holding his mouth wide open as he spilled messily into Erwin’s palm. The added slickness made it easier for Erwin to stroke them both, and it was only another few desperate seconds before he released too, shuddering and burying his face into Levi’s hair before they both finally stilled.

They caught their breath together, Levi huffing heavily against Erwin’s chest and distracted by the pleasure still humming through him, until Erwin decided to wipe his hand off on the blankets.

It had fallen half off of them while they were rubbing against each other, and even though it was still cold in the cabin they had even managed to work up a sweat. Now that they had calmed down, though, it was cool drying over his skin, and Erwin had just dirtied their only source of warmth.

"Were you planning on keeping it as a souvenir?" Erwin teased when he saw Levi eyeing him with a frown.

He kissed him before he could respond, his lips sweet and gentle again, and Levi forgot all about it, his mind instead telling him to burrow back underneath the blankets beside Erwin even though he knew he shouldn't.

It was ironic, almost, that although he'd spent most of the night before dying to get the fuck out of this place, now he wasn’t sure if he was ready to get up yet. But it was hard to want to go back out into the cold when Erwin was so warm and their limbs were still tangled, and especially when he continued to kiss him even long after Levi knew they both should pull away.

"Should we-" He forced himself to say a moment later, opening his eyes and turning his face away.

"Get going? Yes." Erwin finished the sentence he'd started, sighing quietly and rolling over onto his back. "We want to get to safety before nightfall. We probably should have already left."

He said the last part a bit sheepishly and Levi rolled his eyes, feeling his ears start to burn already as what they’d just done began to sink in. They’d had sex, after dancing around it the night before and after Levi had fought against the temptation, managing to convince himself that Erwin’s dick should be the last thing on his mind when there was a possibility he could freeze to death.

Despite their obvious attraction to each other, Levi thought he had managed his restraint well considering he almost slept on the floor because of it, but apparently, the realization that they would be getting out of their situation safely had been enough for them to discard all their remaining reticence out the window.

"You started it." Levi muttered, thinking back to what had happened.

Erwin had kissed him first, right?

"Did I? I woke up with you lying on top of me, not the other way around."

Now, Levi couldn't stop his cheeks from reddening, because he was right. "I was cold. I was just trying not to freeze to death."

“Of course. You seemed very concerned about that last night, considering I nearly had to drag you into the bed.”

Erwin let out a chuckle, clearly amused at Levi’s excuses, and watched him from the side. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something else, but then the look on his face shifted and he sat up.

“Well, let’s get dressed and eat.” He said, climbing off the bed and pulling his underwear up, but not before giving Levi a full view of his round, pert ass.

He could get used to seeing that every morning, he mused, banishing the thought nearly as quickly as it had sprung up. He bit his lip and got out of bed too, grimacing at the cold air on his skin after being cocooned under warm blankets, and followed Erwin’s lead in putting his clothes back on.

Everything had managed to dry the night before - even his boots - but after he’d put it all back on the knowledge that he was incredibly poorly dressed for trekking through the snow came rushing back to him. He remembered how cold he’d been the day before, how frozen and damp, and nearly started shivering again just from the thought.

Apparently Erwin noticed too, because he was looking at him thoughtfully as he zipped up his ski jacket - the jacket he wore over an undershirt and a thick turtleneck. He had long johns underneath his pants, too, and several pairs of socks to go with his insulated gloves, all of it screaming to Levi that Erwin had been much more prepared for the worst than he had been.

He didn’t say anything, though, not until they had both eaten their remaining snacks - Levi his granola bar and pretzels, and Erwin some cookies - and had some water as they got ready to leave.

“Levi.” Erwin spoke up. “Why don’t you take this?”

He was offering him his scarf, Levi realized, the one he’d had wrapped around his face when Levi had first seen him. He was holding it in his outstretched hands, approaching him while Levi was sliding his backpack onto his shoulders.

Levi raised an eyebrow, scowling not because of Erwin’s gentlemanly expression - unsurprising, at this point - but because of the stupid, ridiculous way it made his heart flutter in his chest.

“I made it this far without a scarf, idiot. I think I’ll be fine.” He mumbled, but didn’t move when Erwin just ignored him and fixed it around his neck.

“Nonsense. I don’t need it, really.” He said, wrapping it around him once. “You’ll be better off with something covering your face. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten how chilly the wind can be.”

“Yeah, so why don’t you need it then?”

“I can use my jacket, see?”

As Levi watched, Erwin raised the hood on the jacket he wore, zipping it up further so that the collar extended to cover the bottom half of his face up to the tip of his nose. With the hood tugged down, all that was really visible was his eyes and the bottom of his eyebrows.

He looked silly, Levi thought, but cute, rolling his eyes when he could tell that Erwin was smiling.

“Shall we go?” He asked a moment later, sliding his own pack over his shoulders and approaching the door with Levi.

Levi paused for a moment, taking one last look around the shack he’d stayed in, at the remnants of the chair he’d destroyed and of the fire that had probably saved his life, or at least his toes, and the bed he and Erwin had, well, used for sleep and sex. He hadn’t even stayed there an entire day, but it felt like much longer than that, and although it truly hadn’t been all that bad like Erwin had said earlier, he was ready to go.

“Yeah.” He said finally, bracing himself against the door. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Together, they pushed it open, shoving aside the snow and ice that had piled up before stepping outside into the cold.

Immediately, Levi had to shield his eyes. It was bright from the sun and all the white snow, and he’d spent the last however many hours inside a dimly lit cabin. However, once his pupils finally adjusted, he was able to see the outside area around it in full light instead through a snowstorm. They were in a small clearing, surrounded by glistening, snowy white pine trees, and if he looked to his left, he saw that there was indeed an outhouse.

“Need to go?” Erwin asked, his voice muffled from the jacket that covered his mouth.

Levi didn’t respond. Instead he took the lead, stepping off the porch to begin making his way through the slush. Erwin followed behind him, and together, they made their way down the path they’d taken to get through the cabin’s front door until they hit the trees again.

“Well, Levi.” Erwin said suddenly, causing Levi to stop and turn around. “I guess this is where we say goodbye.”

“What?”

“I have to go back to my campsite to gather my things. I probably won’t make it back down the mountain until tomorrow.”

This entire time, Levi had thought he and Erwin would be descending the mountain together, and his brows were now drawn down in confusion and, he hated to admit, a little worry.

“Are you fucking insane? There’s still a foot of snow on the ground!”

“Yes, but its melting quickly because it's warmed up. I’ve been camping in these temperatures for almost a week. I have heated blankets, and wood for a fire. As long as it doesn’t storm again, I’ll be fine.”

For a moment, Levi just stared at him, wondering if Erwin was really this stubborn, or if he was just an idiot. But then, he supposed he was right. The storm had come out of the blue, but now it was gone, and other than the melting snow on the ground everything else was back to normal.

“Alright. See you, I guess.” He said, frowning, because although there was really no reason why Erwin couldn’t go back, something else was still bothering him and he knew exactly what it was.

When Erwin had first walked in, Levi had wished more than almost anything that he wasn’t there, because the thought of sharing his tiny cabin with a stranger had been dreadful. However, it hadn’t taken him long to warm up to him, and it had taken even less time than that for him to figure out he was attracted to him.

It was more than that, though. He liked him, and he certainly wouldn’t mind seeing him again. He thought Erwin felt the same way considering all their ‘theoretical’ talk about dating, but maybe it had all just been theoretical after all, and sex had been what Erwin was after. It wasn’t like he really knew him, Levi thought, he was still barely anything more than a stranger, and for all he knew he was a flaky, one night stand kind of guy despite how much it seemed to be otherwise.

Still, though, he couldn’t help but think after the night they’d spent together, after all the flirting and talking and surviving being snowed in a fucking cabin, not to mention the sex, were they really just going to say goodbye and leave like this? Was this really going to be it?

Apparently it was, because Erwin just nodded after Levi spoke and adjusted his jacket, blinking at him before saying one final thing. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.” Was all Levi could manage in response, unable to bite back the irritation in his tone.

He scowled and started to turn around, deciding to just get the fuck out of there and away from Erwin since that’s what he seemed to want, but was stopped when Erwin suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Wait.” He said, swallowing. Levi’s heart skipped a beat. “Can I call you sometime?”

Immediately, Levi's stomach flipped and a warm feeling flooded through his chest, replacing all of the cold tenseness that had been there before. Still, he scowled. "You fucking bastard. I thought you weren't going to ask."

"Is that a yes?"

Levi couldn't see Erwin's whole face, but his eyes were wide, and although he seemed confident, he thought he sensed a hint of nerves in his voice too.

"Yeah, its a yes." Levi said, nodding, biting his lip when Erwin's cheeks raised in what he knew must be a smile.

"I don't have my phone. Here, can you write it down on this?"

Levi watched as Erwin let go of him, squatting down in the snow to dig through his backpack. A second later he pulled out a broken pencil, and an old, wrinkled and faded map.

He handed it to Levi so he could scribble his number on it quickly, giving it back to Erwin who tucked it safely away again before standing back up.

"Thank you." He said. "And be careful."

"I will. Don't get eaten by any fucking wolves."

Erwin laughed at that, loudly enough that Levi thought if there were any fucking birds around he would have scared them out of the trees. Then he paused for a moment, looking down at Levi before he bent and tugged down the collar of his jacket.

"Can I?" He asked, his gaze lowering to Levi's lips.

Levi rolled his eyes, finding Erwin's request to kiss him ridiculous, considering they'd made out the night before and Levi had sucked his dick that morning. Rather than answer, though, he grabbed a handful of Erwin's jacket himself, jerking him down to press their lips together roughly.

He held him there and opened his mouth, slipped his tongue inside Erwin’s when he did too, kissing him so eagerly that Erwin had to grab his shoulders to steady himself in surprise. It only lasted for a minute, but it was long and heated enough for Levi’s face to start burning by the time he let go of him and they both pulled away, breathless and gazing at each other in the sunlight.

“See you.” Levi said then, after a moment of stunned silence, backing away and turning around to begin his trek to safety.

“Take care!” Erwin shouted from behind him.

When Levi looked over his shoulder to take one last glance at him, Erwin was waving and fixing his jacket, and he lifted his hand in response before finally disappearing into the trees.

It was cold, and from the moment he’d stepped outside the cabin he’d been fighting back shivers. Once he started walking in earnest, though, he warmed up a bit, despite how the wet snow quickly soaked his boots and the bottom of his pants like it had done the day before.

Fortunately, Erwin’s scarf helped with the wind too, and besides, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been during the storm. He wasn’t so much as freezing as he was mildly uncomfortable and chilly, but the longer he went on, the more worried he became that something might change. The fact that the snow was melting made it easier for him to walk through, yes, but it still slowed him down a lot, and he realized quickly that it was going to take him most of the day to get down the mountain. He was prepared for it, but after yesterday, he couldn’t help but worry that something might go wrong and he wouldn’t get back by nightfall.

Just as it was the day before, though, luck was on his side, and that ended up not being the case.

As it turned out, he wasn’t the only person who had gone missing in the storm, and an emergency team had been out searching for survivors since that morning. Levi stumbled across them after he’d made it about halfway down, and he was relieved to see that they had snowmobiles, space blankets, and fresh water.

With the vehicle, he was back at the lodge in no time, where EMTs were waiting to check him out, much to his irritation. He was fine, but they insisted, because so far he was the only one to make it back they’d said, something that made him frown.

He’d told the rescue team about Erwin but he told them too, hoping that someone in the lodge might know where he was camping and could go help. Levi was kicking himself for not asking or getting Erwin to point his location out to him on his map, and he couldn’t stop himself from worrying that he hadn’t made it safely. All he could do was assume he had, though, and hope that the rescuers would find him.

After he was deemed in good shape, he was told that it would be a good idea to stay at the lodge for a night because the roads in the surrounding area were still icy and dangerous. He thought about it, but after the 2 days he’d had, all he wanted to do was go home and take a hot bath, and decided to risk it.

He gathered his things and headed outside to his car, wrapping the scarf around his face once more when the icy wind blew across his nose.

Inhaling, he realized, it smelled like Erwin.

  
  
  
  
  


Two and a half weeks later, Levi found himself inside a cab, the scarf folded in his lap neatly as he was driven to a nearby Italian restaurant. Biting his lip because of the way his stomach was fluttering, he paid the cabbie when they pulled up and climbed out, immediately spotting the man he was meeting here standing outside waiting on him.

It was Erwin, of course, who had safely made it back to his campsite after all, and had texted Levi the moment he’d gotten home to see if he was alright. Since then, they’d talked quite frequently, and had made plans to turn the theoretical date they’d discussed in the cabin into a real one.

That was why Levi was here at the Italian place - a nice one, too, like Erwin had said - that he’d been promised would be just as good as any homemade pasta sauce he might make.

“You look like a teacher now.” Levi told him once he’d gotten out of the cab and Erwin approached him, noticing first thing that his scruffy beard was gone and how neatly his hair was combed.

It all took him aback because that’s how he’d been picturing him in his head for the past two weeks, but only for a second, because after that he found himself admiring how it made him look even more handsome, especially with his button down shirt and tie and nice coat.

Erwin laughed at Levi’s comment and rubbed his smooth face, bending once he reached him to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Hello to you too.” He murmured, the sound of his voice this close to Levi’s ear making his cheeks burn.

“I brought your scarf back.”

“Ah, thank you.” Erwin replied, taking it with a smile and stuffing it into the pocket of his coat before he turned and held out his hand. “Well, shall we?”

Levi blinked, chewing on his lip again before he reached up to grab Erwin’s palm with his. Together, they walked into the restaurant, where they were quickly seated at the table Erwin had reserved for them.

Looking around, he was impressed. There were candles and wine already at the dimly lit section, and when Levi sat down, the host placed his napkin in his lap. Already, this was the nicest date he’d ever been on, and he hadn’t even tasted the food yet. That turned out to be delicious too though - the pasta sauce _almost_ as good as his own, Levi teased, to which Erwin replied that he’d have to taste it sometime - and he was even talked into ordering dessert and coffee once they’d finished eating.

Levi wondered if Erwin was pulling out all the stops to make this date as pleasant as possible, because he was pretty sure they both knew what would happen if he did. They’d discussed it already, after all, when they’d had their theoretical conversation about dating in the cabin. If Levi was being honest with himself, though, none of this was actually necessary.

As far as he was concerned,  he and Erwin had basically already had a first date: their night stranded in the storm. They’d had a dinner of trail mix and chips while talking, and they’d even watched part of a DVD as if Erwin had taken him to a movie. Afterward, Erwin kissed him, and then they’d slept together.

Yes, it had been unconventional and unplanned and they’d only been doing what they needed to occupy their time, but their experience together had made Levi sure that he liked Erwin, maybe even more sure than he would’ve been on a normal first date and certainly enough to be where he was now.

He still found himself doing all the things he’d imagined before too though: enjoying the wine, running his foot up the back of Erwin’s leg under the table, and throwing him coy looks when Erwin was talking to him. He even let Erwin feed him a bite of gelato when they were having dessert, watching the way his eyes lowered to focus longingly on his lips. He was enjoying himself, and by the way Erwin let his fingers linger over Levi’s when they brushed hands and how he kept smiling, Levi could tell Erwin was too.

All in all, it felt more like a continuation of their budding relationship than a first date, and Levi left the restaurant with Erwin feeling satisfied and stuffed - his stomach filled with good food and anticipatory butterflies for what would come next. They barely made it around the corner before Erwin kissed him, his lips warm and soft just like Levi remembered. He tasted like wine this time instead of hot chocolate, but that didn’t make Levi any less excited, going up onto his tiptoes almost immediately so he could grab at Erwin’s neck.

He held him there, kissed him like he had when they’d parted ways on the mountain - hard and eager and with enough heat so that if Erwin didn’t know exactly what he wanted, he surely would now.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Levi.” Erwin said, already sounding breathy as he spoke before Levi dragged him back down.

“Yeah? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your cock.”

Erwin’s lips curved up, a smile on them as they moved against Levi’s gently.

“How was dinner?”

Levi pulled away then, nipping at Erwin’s bottom lip before he did so, sliding a hand down his chest to playfully tug at his tie. “Not bad.”

“I guess this is the part where I invite you back to my place.” Erwin said slowly, his eyes on Levi who was doing his best to keep a neutral expression, although he could feel himself flushing with excitement already and hear his heart hammering in his chest.

“You’d better.” He mumbled back, licking his lips and recalling what Erwin had told him before, when they’d been moments away from fucking and discovered they had no lubricant. “I have a raincheck to cash in.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, feedback is appreciated <3


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